Improved hydraulic apparatus



Nrrn STATES LOVETT EAMES, OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN.

iiVlPROVED HYDRAULIC APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 36,397, dated September9, 1862.

.To @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, Lovurr EAMus, of Kalamazoo, in the county ofKalamazoo and State of Mich i gan, have invented a new and ImprovedHydraulic Apparatus 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact dcscription thereof, reference being had to theannexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figurel is a diamctrical section through the entire machine, showing theseveral parts thereof in their relative positions when at rest. Fig. 2is an enlarged sectional view of the water-chest and double valve,showing in red lines the position of the latter when firmly held upagainst its seats. Fig. 3 is a central section through the lower end ofthe pistonrod, the piston, and loaded valve, the latter being shown bythe aid of red lines in a position closing the openings which arethrough the piston. Fig. 4 shows the top of the piston and the openingstherethrough. Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section through the centerof the plunger on the upper end of the pistonrod. Fig. 6 is an enlargedtop view of the water-chest, showing the induction orifices through itstop plate.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

rIhis invention relates to an automatic forcing apparatus which 'isintended for throwing water to great heights and for furnishing water tocities, towns, factories, &c., which may be situated above the level o'rsource from which it is desired to obtain'thesupply, as will behereinafter shown and described.

To enable those skilled in the art tomake and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is a cylinder, which may be made of any suitable size found bestadapted to the pur pose it is to serve.

C is the head of cylinder A; C', its neck; and D is an air globe orchamber having the usual discharge-pipe, D', common to most airchambersfor forcepumps.

The bottom of cylinder Ain the present instance is hanged and bolted toa box, B, hav` ing astrainer, B', coveri ng its bottom, as shownspherical chamber, a, perpendicular tubes a' a a' a', and a centralvalve-space, b, as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, and this chest E isfurnished with a collar, c, which projects ashort distance above theupper surface of the plate E of this chest. The loweredge of this collarc is beveled at c', thus forming a valve-seat for the upper plate, d, ofthe double valve F. This double valve F consists of two valveplates, dand d', secured to the eXtreme ends of a central stem, d2. The lowerplate, d', is somewhat smaller in diameter than the upper plate, d.These two valve-plates d d are allowed to have a free perpendicularmovement,

and they are kept in their proper places by the smoothed sides of4 tubesa a a a', for the upper plate, d, and the guide-pieces e e for the lowerplate, d. Both valves d d close upward, and f is the seat for the lowerplate, d.

The collar c, above referred to, has fitted within it a short cylinder,o, having an annular flange, c, projecting from its upper edge outward,which ange rests upon the upper edge of collar c, and thus supports thecylinder c2 within the collar c, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The cylindercz projects down below the valve-seat c of the upper valve-plate, d, andthis cylinder is allowed to have afree upand-down play within its collarc, provision being made to prevent cylinder c2 from getting out of thecollar c, as shown in Figs. l and 2.

Now it will be seen that just before the upper plate, d, of the doublevalve F takes its seat this plate will come in contact with thelowermost edge of cylinder ci and will necessarily lift this cylinderand keep it up as long as the double valve is seated. When this doublevalve F is thus seated, any pressure upon the cylinder c2 which willovercome that which keeps the double valve to its seat will start thedouble valve downward. Now, the movable cylinder c2 may be dispensedwith,if desirable, and the same object effected-wiz., to start thedouble valve--without this cylinder. This l are in the Jositions shownin Fi 1. Above through the pistou J, as willl be hereinafter.

shown. Between valvevplate H and the fixed plate ca'may be interposedwashers i for regulating by their thickness'the up-and-down movement ofthis loaded valve-plate on the hollow rod G.

J is the piston, which is perforated at j j j for allowing the spentwater to pass from beneath above this piston, as indicated b y thearrows inFig; l of the drawings. Piston J is rigidly secured to the rodG, and it is suitably packed around its circumference, so as to work upand down freely within the upright cylinder A. The oriiicesy` j throughpiston J are closed by the valve-plate H during the full upward strokeof this piston, as will be further described in the operation of themachine.

The depression which is shown in the center of the piston J in Figs. 1and 3 is intended to receive the corresponding elevation in the centerof the loaded valve H, so that a water-cushion will thus be formed,which will prevent the piston J from injury or concussion whennthe plateH is brought to its seat immediately before the upward stroke of thepiston. Asimilar cushion will be formed between the lower plate, d', ofthe double valve F and the concave bottom of chamber a, to prevent thedouble valve from injury when it drops from its seats, as shown in Figs.l and `2. y On the upper end of the hollow rod G is a plunger, g, whichis suitably packed to Work tightly within the iiXed barrel' g'. Plungerg is hollow or cupshaped, and over the hole throughthe, neck of thisplunger is seated a valve, k, which valve opens upward and forms, whenopen, a communication between the barrel g above the plunger and thecylinder A below the plunger,through orifices s s. Valve 7c is raisedfrom its seat by means of the eXtension-jointed levers Z Z, (shown linFigs. 1 and 5,) the upper ends of which come in contact with the undersurface of cap m of barrel g at the proper time to remove the downwardpressure from the plunger g for allowing the piston J to descend. Thecap m on the upper end of barrel g has an orifice through it,which formsa communication between the air-chamber D and this `barrel g', andthisorifice is closed by a valve, n, which opens upward into air-chamber D.The stem of valve n is suitably guided and kept in -its proper position'by a bridgecap, p, on the top of the pump'barrel. The communicationbetween the barrel g above the plunger g and the inside of cylinder A isformed by means of the openings s s, above referred to, and theseopenings are made through the neck of plunger g, just below the valve7c, as shown in- Figs. 1 and 5 of the drawings, and the water rushesthrough these oriiices .s s to fill the barrel g above the plunger gduring the downstroke of the plunger, asy will be further explained vinthe operation of the apparatus.

K is a rod, which is attached by a hook or otherwise to the projectingeye s on the double valve F, as-shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This rod extendsup through the axis of hollow rod G a sufficient distance, (as will behereinafter fully'` eXplained,) and hasa button-head or enlargement, t,formed on its upper end, against which head a shoulder, at '0, Figs. 1and 3,

d dfltoward their respective seats cf, at which moment the valve 7.a israised and `the downward pressure upon the pistou J is cutoff by theclosing of valve n. The valve-plates of the double valve F now fullyclose in consevquence of the great outward pressure upon them, and thepiston J is now allowed to descend to the position shown in Fig. 1 inblack lines.

The overplus or spent water which changes places from the lower to theupper side of the piston J in the descent of thepiston, and that portionof `water which does not pass intothe barrel g', is allowed to escapethrough the cap C of cylinder A at a point or points above the terminusof the upper stroke of the piston, and this waste water may be conductedoft by means of a Siphon-shaped pipe, as shown in red lines, Fig. 1, orVin any other manner adapted to the best mode of putting up andarranging the apparatus to receive the head of water.`

The mode of regulating the supply of air to the air-chamber D isrepresented in Fig. 1. It consists of a delicatelyconstructed air-`cock, T, of any suitable kind, which is tapped through thebarrel g at apointwhich is above the plunger g when this plunger has attained itslowest downward stroke. The air, when let into the barrel g at such apoint, will be forced into the air-chamber D by the piston g.

The operation of my machine is asfollows: The machine being properlylocated, so that a head of water can be made to act upon it, the wateris conducted in any suitable manner into the box B through the strainerB,from whence it will rush through the spaces between the tubes a a a aof the boX E, and a portion of water will pass down intothe'com`partment a and up through the tubes a a a.' a', while a portion willpass into the central chamber, b, above the upper valve-plate, d, of thedouble valve F. The water which passes through chamber a and tubes c a aa will instantly throw up the lloaded valve H and close thevalve-openings through the piston, asindicatedin red lines, Fig. 2.Subsequently,` however, to the closing of valve H water is al-v lowed toilo'win small quantities through the pistonV J 5 `but when the water hasattained its full force the valve H is started toward the piston J, andthis valvesuddenly checks the iiow `of water through the piston, asabove described, and causes the iull force of the head of water to actin moving the' piston upward. Again, as soon as the pistonJ has started,in consequence of the operation just described, the plate C3 rises, andallows the water to rush directly up through the central opening also,so that We now have a full head of water operating to move the piston J,with its loaded valve H, upward. The water is now rushing over as wellas under the upper valve, d, and also over the lower valve, d', asindicated by the course of the red arrows in Figs. l, 2, and 6 of thedrawings. The piston J is in this manner forcedup to the positionindicated in red lines, Fig. 1; but at a proper time, before the pistonJ reaches this point, the terminus of its stroke, the shoulder c comesin contact with the head t on rod K and carries up this rod, togetherwith the double valve F, thus gradually cutting off the flow of waterinto the cylinder A through the double-valve openings. When thedoublevalve plat-es d d have nearly closed their respectiveinductionoriiices, the plungerg of the pump will have moved up to theposition indicated in red lines in Fig. 1L The upper ends of theextension levers U will come in contact with the cap m, which willcompress these levers and raise the valve lc in the top of plunger g.This operation will instantly give a preponderance to the upwardpressure of the head of water, which will instantly close and seat thedoublevalve plates d el', and thus cut od' the head of water. Valve Hwill now drop so as to open the ports in the piston J, and both valveand piston will descend,allowing the water which was below the piston topass above it through the portsjjj in the piston J. It is now desiredt'o open the double valve to let on the head of water again. This can bedone by means of the short sliding cylinder c2, as before described, orby making the plate c3 small enough to enter the space formed by thecollar c a short distance, and thus cause the weight of piston J andvalve H to operate, through the medium of Water confined in this chamberupon the valve-plate d, to start the valves d d from their seats; but inthe former instance the plate c3 pressessuddenly upon the cylinder c2,and this cylinder is made to serve as a medium through which the weightand concussion of the descending piston J and valve H are brought to actupon the double valve.

As soon as the double valve F is started from its seats, the inllux ofwater into chambers a and b will, together withthe weight of the doublevalve itself and the neutralizing effect of the chamber now formed overplate d, cause this double valve to drop to the position represented inFigs. l and 2 of the drawings in black lines.

We have now made two strokes of the piston, described the manner ofintroducing, regulating, and cutting off the head or supply of Water tothe pistonJ of the apparatusbelow the pump proper. It will be seen thatwhen the piston J descends and carries down with it the plunger g of thepump the valve n will be closed and a vacuum will thus be formed in thepump-barrel g, which will be instantly filled with water from thecylinder A through the orifices S S and the opening of valve 7c, andthus at every downward stroke of the piston J and plunger g water willbe injected into the pump-barrel g', to be forced into the air-chamberDthrough the opening which is closed by the valve n at the succeedingupward stroke of the piston and plunger g. At the neXt upward stroke ofthe piston J, to continue with the operation of the apparatus, the waterwhich is now above the plunger will be forced into the air-chamber D,and water from cylinder A will also follow the plunger up. "When thepiston (and plunger) has reached (nearly) its highest point and thesupply of Water is nearly cut off in consequenceof the double valve Fapproaching its seats, as before described, the upper ends of theeXtension-jointsl Zwill come in contact with the lcap m of thepump-barrel, lift and open the valve la in the plungerg, and cause thevalve a, leading to air-chamber D, to instantly shut, thus removing allresistance to the further rise of the plunger and piston J and allowing.the force under the piston to give it a sudden upward start, whichcarries the double supply-valve F firmly to its seats and allows theloaded valveH to separate from its seat of its own gravity, thus againinitiat ing the change of motion.

There is a chamber, b, formed above the top plate, d, of double valve F,when the parts are in the positions represented in Fig. l, which chamberhas for its bottom the plate Zand for its top the plate c3, both ofwhich plates are capable of being separated from their places. Thischamber serves some veryimportant purposes in the operation of theapparatus, as will be now described. When the plate c3 drops upon thetop of this chamber b and closes t-he upper opening, it isfirst receivedb by the water which is above the plate d, and thus as'the piston Jdrops down the water in chamber b will serve as a cushion and prevent.

any concussion. Then, again, when this platev c3, with the piston J andloaded valve H, all dropor press suddenly upon the water in chamber bthedouble valve F willy be started from its seats, as before described, anda certain quantity of Water from the supply will pass over the upperplate, d, and impinge on the underside of plate c3, not sufficientlystrong at first to lift this plate, but the water, which will now rushunobstructedly through the opening of the lower valve, d', will pass upthrough the tubes a a a c' into the cylinder A, and while the doublevalve F is dropping the water which has thus passed into the cyl-` inderA will close the valve H under the ports j j to allow the piston tostart upward with the force of the full head of water.

The opening G2, which is made through the cap of cylinder A, is intendedfor the escape of the waste water. rlhe cap C may have a number of theseopenings through it, as many as it will be found necessary for allowingthe waste water to escape freely above the piston.

' Should it be found desirable and circumstances permit, pure Water maybe supplied to the pump of my apparatus, While the piston below the pumpmay be operated and made to operate the pump with impure Water. Themannner of accomplishing this is not shown in the drawings, and it isonly one of the incidental advantages attending my improved hydraulicapparatus. u

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The pistou J, working inan upright cylinder, A, and so constructedthat it will be acted upon in its upward stroke by the force of a headof water and then allowed to descend by virtue of its own gravity whenthe head is cut oft, substantially as herein set forth.

2. The water'chcst or divisional Water-boX E, arranged below the mainpiston J at the bottom of the body of the machine,'and furnished with adouble disk-valve, F, valveseats f and c', and eduction-chambers,substantially as herein set forth.

3. Controlling and regulating the passage of the spent Water below thepiston through said piston by meansof a loaded plate-valve,- H, or itsequivalent, substantially as herein set forth. i p

4. Cutting off the pressure under the piston and its loaded valve at theinstant the water has exerted its maximum force upon the piston, bymeans substantially as herein set forth.

-5. Arranging above the piston J a forcef pump when this pump receivesits power from, is connected to, and operates in combination with themechanism in the body of the machine, substantially as herein shown.

6. The central equalizing-chamber, which is immediately above the doublevalve F, for regulating the flow ofwater to the piston J' at thecommencement of its upward stroke, substantially as herein set forth. i

7. Tripping the valve k by means ofthe extension-jointed levers Z Z, ortheir equivalents, as herein set forth.

8. Cutting oi` the supply `of water to the chamber A previously to thetripping of valve k by means of rod K and double valve F, so that thedouble Valve F can `be driven rmly to its seats by the force of the headof water,

